Dynamic contact between awire rope and a pulley using absolute nodal coordinate formulation

Abstract

Wire rope and pulley devices are used in various machines. To use these machines more safely, it is necessary to analyze the behavior of the contact between them. In this study, we represent a wire rope by a numerical model of a flexible body. This flexible body is expressed in the absolute nodal coordinate formulation (ANCF), and the model includes the normal contact force and the frictional force between the wire rope and the pulley. The normal contact force is expressed by spring-damper elements, and the frictional force is expressed by the Quinn method. The advantage of the Quinn method is that it reduces the numerical problems associated with the discontinuities in Coulomb friction at zero velocity. By using the numerical model, simulations are performed, and the validity of this model is shown by comparing its results with those of an experiment. Through numerical simulations, we confirm the proposed model for the contact between the wire rope and the pulley. We confirmed that the behavior of the wire rope changes when both the bending elastic modulus of the wire rope and the mass added to each end of the wire rope are changed.